Frank Zappa.
Have a listen to "shut up an play yer guitar" apparently a jibe from an audience member.
And Carlos Santanna to prove I listen to more than white males.
For technical excellence and pushing the instrument way beyond its design limit there was Robert Fripp & Brian Eno on their duet albums not the commercial pop.
As for ZTR's no such thing as best full stop but some are better at specific things than others.
I have become quite fond of Great Danes got a few of them in my repair run, can't seem to kill them particularly for rough cutting.
For fine cutting, never seen anything that could hold a stick to a Walker and double ditto for manouverability.
Then the articulated Stiga out front Park series, a supurb mower, excellent cut on fine lawns, reasonable on paddocks but really needs the 4WD, have worked on both.
The rest of the Stiga range is best avoided, might work on fine on soft summer lawns but dont work at all down here where the grass grows all year and do 2' a week in summer.